Little reminder to know local laws...not just gun ones either

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Sig 226 .40

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Recently I was traveling thru NJ, returning home to Upstate NY from visiting my brother and his family there. My wife, 2 boys and I pulled into a nearby gas station to top off and for me to grab coffee for the long drive. I think it was approx. 7 or 8 pm. I got out of the van to fill the tank when I noticed that I was getting the "Hairy" eye from the guy filling up the car in front of me. I turned my back for a moment to unscrew the gas cap when I noticed a reflection in the van window. Here comes this scruffy Middle Eastern(not used as a slur but a fact) guy and he starts to reach towards me. I spun around and grabbed his hand and told him to "get back" in what my wife told me later, sounded like a German Shepard on the alert, type voice. He kept advancing and mumbling some gibberish at me....Great!...EDP!!...my hand swept my jacket and my thumb break was popped when the manager came running out yelling that it was against NJ State law to pump your own gas!! ALL gas stations are full service in NJ apparently. I asked him to point out any signs to that effect. He told me that it was common knowledge. Apparently NOT I told him. I told the guy that he almost lost an employee that night due to his lack of English language skills and no signs posted about the full service laws.
Wouldn't you know it, thats when a NJ Trooper came rolling up! He saw the badge on my belt..put 2 and 2 together...with the NY plates..guessed what was going on and got out. He was very cool about it as I explained what happened. He then informed the owner of the station that he DOES have to have FULL SERVICE signs up to keep drivers in their vehicles. Then he asked to see my ammo. Glad I changed my load out to Ball ammo before I went to NJ. Then he checked my shield/ID and said "Have a safe drive, good night."
Moral of the story...make sure that you are aware of more than just gun laws in the states that you may travel to. A gas station attendents life may depend on it.
Hasty to reach for my sidearm? Maybe...but when its dark, in a crap neighborhood, toss in one very scruffy looking, stinky mumble mouth dude who doesn't seem to understand that when you're grabbing his hand and cranking it back while yelling,"GET BACK!!!" and your family is right there..threat percieved. Now while traveling I toss my OC in my jacket pocket. Lessons learned? Yep...and thankfully not the hard way.
 
Yep. Local law AND local custom. How to tell if that bar stool really is vacant. Which condiments are complimentary and which must be paid for. Whether that cute little cowboy-ish sign about guns is somebody's idea of a joke, or a carefully-considered posting of the premises against firearms, effective under state statute. Then there's all the stuff that happens around and on the pool tables.
 
As a former (thankful for that) resident of N.J; if you just accept the fact that EVERYTHING is illegal in N.J; you will be in good shape when living in and traveling through that hell hole.:evil:
 
I wonder how that exchange would have gone if the OP had not been LE.
Click to expand...

Jail time with no chance of parole for a long time.

A gun arrest in N.J. is considered a cut n' dry good bust.
 
wow... but yea, good point to make OP. In that situation, i likely would have had about the same response you did :p
 
Yes, the HP restriction applies. Even though my agency dictates that I will carry 147 gr. JHP ammo at ALL times. So by reloading my mags with 115 gr. ball ammo...I'm screwed departmentally but legal in NJ. I believe the fine in NJ is up to $1000 per ROUND if caught. Out of state LEO is just another civilian regardless of HR 218. Even though HR 218 dictates that I carry my work equivalent (ie..what I am qualified with). Wouldn't have mattered that my sister in laws cousin was the 3rd in command of the NJ State Police either. I've heard of out of state officers having been detained by NJ State Police for having the JHP ammo...at least I thought that out ahead of time.
 
As a LEO I find it surprising that you travel around off duty with your shield on your belt, especially when out of state.

Before HR 218 there was always the chance of being arrested in NJ if you were a NY LEO and commuting while carrying.

"Out of state LEO is just another civilian regardless of HR 218"

You say regardless, but that's what HR218 says. It states you have no police powers and are bound by the same rules as a local permit holder.

NJ has always been somewhat of a problem, but they do have cheap gas.
 
I will probably regret asking this but I just have to....

What in the world is the rationale for having a law forbidding pumping your own gas?
 
New Jersey has cheaper gas prices then the states that are around it. They also pump it for you. People from N.J. fell that if they changed the law you would have to pump your own gas and the the price would not change. You would be doing more work and getting nothing in return.

I think New Jersey and Oregon are the only states that someone has to pump the gas for you.
 
TexasRifleman: "What in the world is the rationale for having a law forbidding pumping your own gas?"

Ever see a gas station explosion?

That, and drive-offs.
 
Yeah I had a similar yet less dramatic occurrence last summer trying to herd off what I thought was a more than helpful person. I don't remember seeing any signs and the guy wasn't all that clean cut looking. You'd think they would at least where some sort of uniform shirt or something. Being at a Highway exit location I would also think they might be more accustomed to people not aware of the law. On the other hand maybe they just get tired of dealing with us. Some signs at the pump would certainly help.

Agree though it's a good reminder to know the laws when traveling. It was a lesson for me as well.
 
Oregon is the same way. Both states claim it is safer and creates jobs. Oregon even had a vote a few years ago to allow self-service and it didn't pass.
 
Seriously, WHAT? Gas station explosions because of self serve pumps?
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Yeah that doesn't sound like a legitimate reason, maybe the excuse given.

We pump our own gas here in Texas, I don't remember any explosions because of it.

Union and labor influence is likely the real reason.

Off topic, I was just curious.
 
I only meant that it is a rationale, not that it is the real reason. I always thought drive-offs were the reason the Maine Turnpike rest stop stations are full-serve only.

I've seen the immediate aftermath of one gas station explosion and the weeks later aftermath of another, though I've never actually witnessed the moment of ignition. The first was caused by careless smoking and careless pumping. The second, by a ferocious District of Columbia firefight. I happened upon the wreckage a couple weeks afterward on my first or second day there, during a walk around Georgetown/Foggy Bottom. What a disaster scene. Not out of the ordinary for DC in those days (1996), though.
 
There's an urban myth in NY that Jersey drivers are the worst. So if they drive like that, why would you trust them with gas in their hands. :rolleyes:

By the way, the price difference just by crossing a bridge into NJ from NY can be $.30-.50 per gallon. NJ has some of the lowest gas taxes in the US.
 
Of course, how much cheaper would it be if the gas stations didn't have to hire full-time attendants to pump gas for you? In most states, the profit margin is mere pennies on the gallon. To make up for the cost of an attendant, they have to probably add a good 30 cents per gallon at a minimum.
 
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